Depth Not Duration
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
30 November
2023
“The hunger
for facile wisdom is the root of all false philosophy.” George Santayana's
pithy observation is indeed very thought-stirring. Wisdom must be unfathomable
to produce something equally profound.
Hindi poet
Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' wrote, "Athaah Samudra Se Hoti Hain Udbhaasit
Gaambheerya Ki Urmiyaan/ Jaise Chhichhle Gyaan Se Upajti Hain Saadharan
Panktiyaan" (The ripples of seriousness come out of an unfathomable
sea/ Just like, superficial knowledge produces substandard writings).
Profound
produces permanent is the mantra to excellence in all walks of life. When we
hanker after mediocrity, we produce something pedestrian. That's why it's said
that it's better to create just one thing in life but that should be
everlasting rather than create or churn out a lot many things having very
little value. Ek Hi Aansoo Ho Magar Ho Jaan-E-Hayaat/ Uss Se Kya Haasil Agar
Laakh Dariya Bah Chale (There must be just one drop of tears but that
should be the essence of life/ What's the use if tears flow like an insignificant
river).
Once an
interviewer asked the great thespian Dilip Kumar that despite being more than
50 years into acting, why did he act only in 60-odd movies. Dilip Kumar smiled
and quoted Pandit Brij Narayan ' Chakbast,' "Ho Jise Justajoo Maahtaab
Ki, Anjum Se Dil Us Ka Bahlta Nahin/ Haath Aa Jaate Hain Sitare Haath Badhane
Se, Maahtaab Lekin Haath Aata Nahin" (One who's desirous of the moon,
cannot be happy with mere stars/ One can reach out to the stars rather easily
but the moon remains elusive).
Dilip Kumar
drove home the point that in life, it was not quantity but the quality that
mattered. Depth is far more important than duration. Zindagi Gahari Ho,
Lambi Na Sahi (Life should be deep even if it's not long).
The great
Persian poet Firdausi wrote just one book Shahnama that had 60 thousand sublime
couplets, but his name is on top in the pantheon of Persian literature, nay,
world literature. By the way, his 'Shahnama' is considered to be one of
the ten greatest creations in world literature alongside Rumi's Masnavis,
the Bard of Avon's ' Othello,' and Dante's 'Divine Comedy.'
Likewise,
only three movies immortalised Hollywood heart-throb James Dean who died
painfully young at the age of 24. Remember the old Scottish proverb that depth
begets further depths, each profounder than the rest.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages
including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/depth-duration/d/131223
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